


The Art of the Bobsled

by BucksFizz



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Bobsleds, Crack, Gen, Short and stupid, Take Me Out to the Holosuite meets Cool Runnings, early season 5 era, in that section where Dukat and Damar are still pirates but Worf/Dax is a thing, please don't flame me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-10 12:10:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18660169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BucksFizz/pseuds/BucksFizz
Summary: Dax is challenged by an old friend to a bobsled race and she has to pick people for her team... She soon learns Cardassians, over-excited doctors and bobsleds don't mix!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh dear Lord. So! This is a story I wrote that I am reposting in honour of its ten year anniversary. It is completely ridiculous, and luckily for the brain matter of you, dear reader, each chapter is very short. I thought about updating it and making it a bit more... descriptive, shall we say, but then I thought... "Nah, the beauty of this masterpiece lies in the sheer simplicity. I'll leave it as it was in the glory days."
> 
> Hopefully it will still make people laugh; I certainly remember having a fun time writing it. Enjoy!
> 
> (Also: Kira isn't pregnant. I forgot.)

**Replimat, 1300 hours**

"You want me to do what?"

"Bobsledding."

Kira looked at Dax incredulously. "What on Bajor is bobsledding?"

Dax grinned and slid a padd over to her friend. "Read this and tell me what you think, I need to get back on duty."

Nerys rolled her eyes and started to read over the contents.

\-----

Dax looked up from her work as a padd dropped onto her console. Kira was shaking her head.

"No. NO!"

"Come on, Nerys! I have the other two team members, I just need one more!" Dax pleaded. "How long has it been since we went to the holosuites?"

"Not long enough!"

Dax raised her eyebrows and returned to her work. "Fine. I think I'll call Julian... he said the other day that he thought you needed a break..."

"You wouldn't dare!" Kira seethed.

"Well, he will be disappointed to hear that he can't go bobsledding... and since he's the Chief Medical Officer he can make it an order..."

Kira threw her hands into the air, defeated. "Fine! When you do you want to do this?"

Dax grinned. "I was thinking tomorrow night for a practice at the holosuites?"

Kira grunted. "You, me, Julian... who's the other team member?"

Smiling secretively, Jadia turned away. "You'll see..."


	2. Chapter 2

Kira sighed and scanned the crowd at Quark's. Where was Jadzia?

"Kira!"

She turned around to see Julian bounding up the stairs enthusiastically to join her.

"I see Jadzia managed to convince you!" he said cheerfully.

Kira glared at him. "Do you know who the fourth member of the team is?"

Bashir shrugged. "The last time I spoke to her, Dax didn't have a fourth competitor."

"But I found one!"

The Major and Doctor turned to see Dax walking up the stairs, dragging...

Kira's heart sank.

"I didn't want to do this," Damar muttered rebelliously.

"Sure you do," Dax replied. She inserted the data rod containing the program into the slot beside the door. "Computer, load program."

The doors swished open. Damar immediately started to head for the stairs.

"Get back here!" Dax said, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.

"You said nothing about ice!" he hissed.

Kira looked at the bobsled, sitting so innocently on the ice, and made a mental note to ask for a transfer the next time she saw Shakaar. Bashir clapped his hands together, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Right," he said. "Who's going to be the driver?"

Kira looked at him sharply. "You have to drive this thing?"

"Nerys, did you even read the instruction manual I sent you this morning?" Dax asked.

"I read it... most of it..."

"Great." Dax sighed and turned on Damar. "Do you at least know how to do this?"

"I didn't even know there was ice!"

Bashir turned slowly to look at Dax. "Then this could be interesting..."


	3. Chapter 3

"One, two, three, go!"

Bashir and Dax slid easily into the moving bobsled; leaving Damar and Kira running after them.

"Come on!" Dax yelled. "Get in!"

"Whoa!" Damar slid and fell, leaving Kira in hysterics and gasping for breath as he struggled to his feet.

"It wasn't that funny!" he snapped.

"Yes it was!" she gasped.

Bashir and Dax dragged the sled back to the starting position. Jadzia frowned at the other two,

"You aren't even trying!"

"What's the point? This is a stupid game anyway," Kira grumbled.

"I agree with Kira," Damar muttered.

"Let's just try it again," Julian said.

Still grumbling, everyone made their way to their positions.

"One!"

"I hate Dax," Kira muttered.

"Two! I heard that, Kira! Three!"

"Wait, I'm not ready!" Damar shouted.

Dax ignored him. "GO!"

This time Dax, Bashir and Kira managed to get in, leaving Damar. With a roar of frustration, he launched himself into the sled, causing it to skid wildly before they finally crashed a few moments later.

"Get offa me!" Kira snapped, pushing Damar off her legs. "You are useless!"

"You're not an expert yourself, Kira!" he snarled.

"At least I managed to get in the sled that time!"

The holosuite doors slid open, interrupting the argument and admitting a tall Human with short, dark hair. Dax beamed at their visitor.

"Ethan!"

The man at the door smiled as Dax hugged him affectionately.

"The Ferengi at the bar told me you were up here," he said. "I see you still like to bobsled... sort of..."

Dax laughed. "Come meet my friends. Ethan, this is Major Kira, Doctor Bashir, and Damar."

"Glinn Damar," he corrected her sharply.

"Nice to meet you," Julian replied cheerfully.

Kira only managed a grunt before falling back onto the ice. Dax looked apologetically back at Ethan.

"We just started," she explained.

"So I see."

"We'll get better."

"I hope so. Remember the old days when we used to go bobsledding on Earth?" he asked, grinning.

Dax laughed. "As if I could forget!"

Ethan smiled. "Well, I guess I should let you get back to your practice. Meet me for dinner at 1900 hours?"

"Sounds good," Dax said. They hugged again before he left. Dax turned to the team to find them sitting with their mouths open.

"What?"

"Aren't you involved with the Klingon?" Damar asked.

"How do you know?"

"Jadzia, Worf is going to kill him!" Bashir interjected.

"It's not a date! We're just old friends catching up."

"That's what I said when Shakaar came to the station and look what happened there," Kira pointed out.

Dax rolled her eyes. "It's nothing. Now, let's get back to practice!"


	4. Chapter 4

Jadzia looked up at Ethan as they ate.

"So... why did you want to have dinner tonight?" she asked.

He shrugged. "We used to be good friends, I haven't seen you for years. I thought it was time to catch up. Plus, I had an interesting idea when I met you in the holosuite."

"What idea was that?"

He smiled. "You're not the only one who's been trying to get their friends into bobsledding; back on the Kelsie, we've got quite a good team. So, my idea is this: our two teams have a race. For old time's sake."

"Old time's sake?" Jadzia felt herself start to panic. "I don't think we're really ready for that yet, Ethan."

"You could train them in time, you were one of the best. You're not turning down a challenge, are you, Dax?" he asked, eyes glittering.

She sat up straight. "Of course not. When do you want to have this race?"

\-----

"Two weeks?!"

Even Bashir wasn't smiling now.

"We can do it," Dax said confidently. More confidently than she felt. "We just need to practice more."

"You're not kidding," Damar muttered.

"There is one other thing..."

"What?" Kira asked warily.

"Somehow, Quark heard about the match and... he's selling tickets. Which are apparently selling out."

"You're saying that hundreds of people are coming to see us getting the crap kicked out of us."

"Yes."

"Oh, goody," Damar muttered sarcastically. "I can't wait."

\-----

"Come on, Damar!" Julian yelled. "Where's that Cardassian endurance?"

"Go to hell!"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Dax and Kira turned to see Captain Sisko smiling down at them.

"I heard about the match," he said. "How's the training going?"

"Well! Sort of..."

Sisko watched his doctor yell insults at the Cardassian running laps around the ice.

"Bashir looks like he's enjoying himself."

The women laughed as Damar slid and fell for the fourth time in that lap.

"He's not got the hang of it yet," Dax explained.

"Who's your driver?" Sisko asked.

"Dax," Kira replied. "Julian's the brakeman, Damar and I..." She trailed off and looked at Dax. "What are we?"

"The middle sledgemen. Women. The middle sledge-man-and-woman."

"Dax, help me!" came a muffled squeal.

Damar continued to throttle Julian and Dax sighed.

"This is going to be a challenge alright."


	5. Chapter 5

"Odo!"

The constable turned to see Major Kira hurrying toward him."

"Is something wrong, Major?" he asked.

She smiled. "Are you coming to the race next week? I think we stand a good chance, now that Damar can actually get in the sled."

"I haven't bought a ticket, no," he replied.

She looked disappointed. "Oh."

"I heard the First Minister was coming to see you race," Odo remarked, trying to be polite.

Kira looked up at him. "Shakaar's coming?"

"You didn't know?"

"I guess it was meant to be a surprise..."

"I'm sorry," Odo said.

She waved it off. "Don't be; I'll act surprised when he gets here. I guess I should get back to the holosuite. Gul Dax let us have a fifteen minute break."

"Of course. Goodbye."

Kira smiled and walked back up the stairs to the holosuites where Jadzia was pacing.

"There you are! I said fifteen minutes, where is everyone?!"

\-----

The bobsled flew around the track as Dax carefully steered the sled round the turns. The end of the track came into sight; Julian pulled the brakes and the sled skidded to a halt.

"How long was that?" Kira asked, jumping out of the sled.

Dax groaned as she read out the time. "One minute, 53 seconds. Way too slow."

_"Sisko to Dax."_

"Dax here, go ahead, Captain."

_"I need to speak to you and Kira in Ops, now."_

"We're on our way." Dax turned to the others. "We will continue this tomorrow."

\-----

"Benjamin, I _can't_ go!" Dax wailed. "I'll miss the race!"

Sisko looked sternly at his science officer. "This is more important than a sled race, Old Man. Set the race for another time."

"I can't, Ethan's ship is leaving the day after we planned it! I am begging you, Benjamin, don't make me miss this," Dax pleaded.

With no success.

She stormed out of the captain's office a minute later. Kira looked over at her.

"Something wrong?"

Dax looked despairingly at her. "You could say that..."

\-----

Kira, Damar, and Bashir sat gloomily around a table at Quark's later that day. Kira sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Bashir asked mournfully. "Not only will we be a team member short, but Jadzia's our best competitor. And our driver!"

"Why couldn't Sisko send someone else?" Damar grumbled.

"Apparently Dax has certain expertise that meant she was the only one who could give the lecture. She's not going to make it back in time from Earth," Kira replied. She sighed again.

"Well, we'll just have to find a replacement for her," Bashir decided. "I, for one, have no intention of backing out now."

"Yes, but who?"


	6. Chapter 6

Kira sat with Bashir in the Infirmary late the next night. The two pored over the data in front of them, trying to select potential candidates for their team.

"Right," Bashir said with a sigh. "I've got four."

"I've got two."

"Ensign Tulano. He's had some experience at the Academy."

"He's going with Dax," Kira replied. "Who else?"

"Lieutenant Adria. She also has some experience, not as much as Tulano but more than Damar..."

Kira shrugged then shook her head. "No, I remember Sisko complaining that she had taken leave that week."

Bashir sighed. "Vedek Tonsa?"

"Beneath his dignity. Who's your last option?"

Bashir swallowed nervously. "Gul Dukat."

"WHAT?!" Kira exploded. "Damar - I am _very_ slowly getting used to, but DUKAT?"

"He has experience with sledding, Kira!"

Kira snickered at the thought of the Cardassian in a bobsled. "There's an image. But no, Julian. No way will I get into a sled with Dukat. Not ever. Never. Never ever."

Bashir held up his hands. "Okay, Kira, I get your point. But unless you have a better option, he may be our only choice."

She cleared her throat. "Chief O'Brien. He does a lot of sports in the holodeck, doesn't he?"

"None that remotely resemble bobsledding, but I'll try and talk to him."

"My last option was ... Odo."

A slow smile spread its way across Bashir's face. "Of course! Why didn't we think of it before?"

\-----

Odo glared suspiciously at Bashir and Kira, who stood in front of his desk doing their best to look innocent.

"All right, you have my attention," he said. "What do you want?"

"Want?" Bashir said casually. "We don't want anything, Odo. We just came by to say... hello."

"Hello," Odo replied. "Was there anything else, Doctor?"

Kira was the first to break. "Odo, we need your help!"

\-----

Kira stormed out of the security office, a dejected Julian trailing behind her.

"I can't believe he said no," Kira muttered.

"If you'd stuckto the plan and had let me compliment him more then he might have said yes!" Bashir shot back.

"Don't try and blame this on me, you were too transparent! He knew right away that we wanted something!" 

"He did not!" Julian protested. "And I was transparent? You looked like-"

"Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?"

They whirled round to see Quark grinning at them. Kira glared at the Ferengi.

"Get lost, you little troll!" she snarled. She glowered at the doctor. "I guess our only hope now is Chief O'Brien."

"Or-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Kira-"

"No, Julian!"

\-----

At the next practice, Damar fell even more than usual; Kira, as a result, screamed more and lost her voice; and Bashir... Kira narrowed her eyes. Bashir was looking very sneaky.

She soon found out why.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting," came a smooth voice from behind her. 

Kira froze, then glared so ferociously at Bashir that he whimpered quietly.

"You called him?!" she hissed.

"Miles can't do it, he's damaged his shoulder again!" Bashir replied, trying to dodge Kira's attack.

"Major, if you don't me on the team, I will gladly leave," Dukat said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "But it seems as though you may be in need of my assistance..."


	7. Chapter 7

\---  
 **Six Days Before the Race**  
\---

"Stop touching me!"

"It's a rather tight space, Major; I'm afraid I _have_ to touch you."

"Stop arguing back there!" Bashir called from his new position at the front of the sled.

"I still don't see why I can't be the driver," Damar sulked.

The other three turned to stare at him and he glared back at them.

"What?"

"You don't see why _you_ can't be the driver?" Kira asked incredulously. "How about because you couldn't even get in the sled until four days ago?"

"I was just saying..."

\---  
 **Four Days Before the Race**  
\---

"Stop touching me, Dukat!"

"Major, I'm not touching you!"

"You were thinking about it!"

\---  
 **Two Days Before the Race**  
\---

"Dukat, I swear if you touch me one more time I will hand you over to the Klingons myself!"

Bashir groaned loudly. This was not what he had signed up for.


	8. Chapter 8

Julian stared open-mouthed at the uniform in his hands, and then looked up at Garak.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked faintly.

"Very sure, Doctor. I assume you want more for Kira, Damar, and Dukat?"

Bashir looked dazed. "Yes, I suppose so. Kira's going to kill me..."

\----

Kira jumped as two large hands came from behind her and covered her eyes.

"Guess who?"

Laughing, she shook Shakaar off and kissed him lightly. She caught sight of Odo standing a few metres behind him and winked at him as Shakaar sat opposite her.

"I had no idea you were coming to the station," she remarked, dead-pan.

"I heard about the race and it seemed like a good time to take a break. How's the training going?"

"Ah, First Minister Shakaar!"

Kira's eyes widened. "Tell me that's not-"

"Yep," Shakaar replied under his breath. He plastered on a fake smile. "Dukat."

"Here to watch the lovely Major and myself in the race tomorrow, I assume?"

Shakaar looked questioningly at Kira, and Dukat's face broke into a grin.

"You did know that I was on the team, didn't you, Minister?" He placed a slight emphasis on the title, letting both Bajorans know exactly what he thought of their leader.

"Major, Dukat, if you'll excuse me - I have an important meeting with Captain Sisko," Shakaar said stiffly.

Kira nodded, then turned and glared at Dukat as Shakaar strode away.

"Why did you do that?" she seethed.

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"You know exactly what!" Kira hissed, before storming angrily away.

\----

Julian nervously pressed the door chime to Kira's quarters. The doors opened on her command and he stepped inside. She looked up at him from her desk.

"Something I can do for you, Doctor?" she asked.

"I-" Julian stopped and cleared his throat. "I picked up the team uniforms from Garak..."

She smiled. "Is that mine?"

He nodded but made no move to hand it over to her. Kira raised her eyebrows.

"Are you going to give it to me?" she asked slowly.

Bashir swallowed nervously and edged towards her desk slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

"Julian, what-"

He dropped the folded uniform on her desk and bolted for the door, tripping over the door ledge and falling on his face in the process. Scrambling to his feet, he shot off down the corridor, leaving a very puzzled Kira behind him. Reaching out for the discarded uniform, she unfolded it and her eyes widened.

"GARAK!"


	9. Chapter 9

\---  
 **Runabout, somewhere between Earth and Bajor...**  
\---

"How long until we reach DS9?" Dax asked nervously.

"Three hours and seventeen minutes. So, two minutes less than the last time you asked me," the pilot replied.

Dax pulled a face. "Sorry."

\---  
 **Back on Deep Space 9**  
\---

"I can't believe I have to wear this in front of everybody," Kira moaned. "In front of Dukat!"

Chief O'Brian glanced over at Kira and smirked. "It's not so bad, Major."

"It's skintight! Not to mention hideous."

Miles looked closely at the uniform and bit back a chuckle, knowing that Kira would probably tear him apart if she thought he was laughing at her.

"It'll make you more streamlined," he explained. "It helps make you go faster. The other team will be wearing them as well."

"Major, there's a message from the Rio Grande."

"Put it through," she ordered. Dax's worried face appeared on the screen.

"Kira, we're being held up near Cardassian space. Apparently," she said sarcastically, "... we're Maquis terrorists in disguise and they're not letting us leave the system until they can confirm our identities. I don't think I'm going to make it back in time..."

 

Dukat looked at himself in the mirror wearing the bobsledding uniform.

"I look completely ridiculous," he grumbled.

"Father, I-"

Ziyal walked in and stopped at the sight of her father. She burst into peals of laughter.

"This isn't funny, Ziyal!" he fumed. "This must be that tailor's sick way of getting revenge!"

"Does Damar have to wear that as well?" she asked, still laughing.

"Everybody does!"

"Even Major Kira?"

He smiled slightly at that. "Yes..."

The old Human saying was true: every cloud has a silver lining...

 

"I can't believe I let myself get dragged into this in the first place," Kira muttered furiously. Julian had called an emergency practice before the race which was due to start in an hour. She had the horrible uniform on; the skintight fabric was dark red in colour, with a lime green streak up the sides. An image of DS9 had been stitched onto the front while _Garak's Tailoring Services, Deep Space Nine_ had been printed on the back.

The holosuite doors opened and Dukat sauntered in.

"I thought Cardassians were sticklers for punctuality!" Kira snapped.

Dukat merely smiled. "You look even more delightful that usual, Major."

Bashir clapped his hands together. "If everyone's here, let's get started."

He passed out the new helmets that clashed horribly with the uniforms, and they took their positions: Julian and Kira on the left side, Damar and Dukat on the right.

"One, two, three, go!" Julian yelled. They pushed the sled down the ice as Bashir jumped into the front seat, followed by Damar as the first middleman, Kira as the second middleman (or first middlewoman, they hadn't come to a consensus yet), and finally Dukat as the brakeman.

_Whoever's idea it was to put me in between the two Cardassians,_ Kira though viciously as the sled hurtled down the ice, _is going to meet with a very painful end._

 

Quark grinned as people began to file steadily into his establishment and make their way towards the holosuites. He could practically see the bars of gold-pressed latinum dancing before his eyes!

He ushered them all upstairs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there will be refreshments and entertainment provided - for a modest fee - after the race," he announced.

"Quark!"

The Ferengi turned to see the scowling security chief marching towards him.

"I didn't do it!" he said quickly.

"I haven't accused you of anything yet," Odo replied. "Are all the necessary security arrangements in place for Minister Shakaar?"

Quark rolled his eyes. "Yes, they didn't even pay for tickets either. You're bleeding me dry here, Odo."

"Good," Odo shot back before making his way through the crowd. Quark shook his head at the retreating Changeling then turned back to his customers.

"Keep it moving, people! Ten minutes until the race!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of this total nonsense. Enjoy!

Doctor Bashir looked out at the cheering crowd nervously and turned to his fellow racers.

"I didn't think the holosuite could hold that many people!" he said.

Sisko, O'Brien, and Worf had come to support Kira and Bashir before the race.

"You will destroy them," Worf said firmly. "For Jadzia."

O'Brien clapped Julian on the shoulder. "I've got two slips of latinum on you to win. If I lose that money, Keiko will kill me."

Julian managed a smile. "I'll do my best."

_"Would the Deep Space Nine team please report to the starting line."_

Sisko smiled at his first officer. "Good luck."

Kira put on her helmet. "Thanks. We're going to need it."

 

Ethan Williams made no effort to hold back his laughter at the DS9 team as they walked out. He turned to his brakeman, another Human named Bennett, and shook his head.

"No way can they beat our time. This was a piece of cake."

 

Dukat could make out the shape of Ziyal in the stands and he smiled - until he noticed the tailor sitting next to her. He started to make his way towards the couple.

"Dukat, you can kill Garak later, right now we have a race to win!" Kira shouted over the din.

Gritting his teeth, he returned to the sled and took his position at the back right.

"COME ON, NINERS!"

Bashir grinned as he heard Sisko and O'Brien yelling their support.

"One!" he shouted. "Two!"

Other members of the crowd started to join in.

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

"GRIND THEM INTO THE DUST! WELL, ICE REALLY, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT, AND I'M STILL YELLING! WHY AM I STILL YELLING?"

"Three! Go!"

They tore down the slope, Bashir landed safely in his seat, followed by the rest of the team.

 

Up in the commentator's box, Nog turned excitedly to Jake.

"4.59! That's an amazing start time: three seconds faster than the Kelsie's team!" he reported into the microphone.

"How do you know what an amazing time is? You've never even heard of bobsledding," Jake replied.

"Yes I have!"

"Watching Cool Runnings that one time doesn't count!"

"Hey!"

The teenagers turned to see O'Brien sticking his head round the door. "Stick to talking about the race, huh?"

"Fine," they grumbled.

 

Kira twisted and turned with the sled as Bashir skilfully navigated it round the turns. The end was coming into sight...

Bashir smiled grimly as he spotted the finishing flag coming closer...

Damar sighed in relief; it was almost over.

Dukat glared at the back of Kira's head. How could that tailor have enchanted his daughter? It was a disgrace! He grimaced as the sled bounced hard off the last turn.

"DUKAT!"

Kira's voice was muffled... what was she saying? His eyes widened as they sped faster and faster towards the finishing line and he quickly yanked on the brakes, bringing the sled to an eventual screeching halt.

Julian jumped out of the sled and looked towards the score board. Up in the stands, Keiko clutched at Miles as Jadzia Dax rushed into the holosuite and made her way towards the team, trying to dodge the holographic trees and stay on her feet on the slippery ice at the same time.

"What was Ethan's time?" she asked Kira in a low voice as she reached them.

"55.43."

The time flashed up on the screen and the crowd jumped to their feet, cheering wildly.

"55.24!" Nog yelled excitedly. "The DS9 team have won!"

"Yes!" Bashir shouted. Shakaar, Sisko, O'Brien and Worf made their way down to the team and congratulations and hugs were passed around.

Ethan's mouth fell open and Jadzia winked, smirking. "You tried."

The Kelsie team moped away dejectedly, muttering and grumbling amongst themselves, and Bashir laughed, slightly delirious with relief.

"Drinks at Quark's, anyone?"

 

Kira and Shakaar walked slowly towards the airlock where his shuttle was waiting to take the First Minister back to his duties.

"About Dukat..." she trailed off as they came to a stop.

"Nerys, I'm not upset. Seeing Dukat in one of those bobsledding suits more than made up for it!"

Kira laughed as Bashir and Dax rounded the corner behind them.

"Minister Shakaar," Bashir greeted. "We came to give you a souvenir, you left before we got the chance to give you it earlier in Quark's."

He handed over the "souvenir" and Kira broke into more laughter.

"It's very... nice," Shakaar tried.

He looked down at the stuffed figure of Dukat in his bobsled uniform and grinned. "I may have to get some more produced for the other ministers."

The other three laughed and Shakaar kissed Kira before getting onto the shuttle. Dax smiled at her.

"You made me proud out there, guys," she said.

"It's easy when you get the hang of it," Julian replied.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the bobsledding, I meant how Kira put up with TWO Cardassians, one of them being Gul Dukat, without killing anyone!"

Laughing, the three officers made their way back towards Quark's. Dax smiled at the approaching figure.

"Odo!" she said. "I didn't see you at the race."

"I had some important security business to oversee from my office," he replied, looking uncomfortable.

Kira smiled. "Will you join us at Quark's?"

He looked surprised. "I really should get back..."

"Oh. Well, we'll see you later, Odo," Bashir replied.

Odo nodded and walked away. Kira stared after her friend for a moment then rejoined the Starfleet officers, still laughing as they sat down at the bar.


End file.
